PADI Open Water Course

Looking to start your recreational adventure into the underwater world?

Then the Open Water course is where it all begins. The Open Water diver qualification allows individuals to dive with a buddy with equal or higher qualification level to dive anywhere in the world to a maximum depth of 18 meters. This qualification will give you access to some of the most beautiful dive sites around the world including The Caribbean, Red Sea, Maldives and most importantly the UK.

To enroll in a PADI Open Water Diver course (or Junior Open Water Diver course), you must be 10 years old or older. You need adequate swimming skills and need to be in good physical health.

The PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases:

Knowledge Development (, independent study or in a classroom) to understand basic principles of scuba diving

Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills

Open Water Dives to use your skills and explore!

The Open Water Course can be completed in as little as 4 days, providing that all prior e-learning/home learning has been completed beforehand. After completing 5 chapters/knowledge reviews in the Open Water manual students progress to the Confined and Open Water training. Students will learn essential scuba diving skills over 5 Confined Water sessions.

Students will experience marine life and ecosystems up close as they demonstrate their skills over 4 Open Water dives in a nearby training quarry or in the sea over 2 days. On sucessful completion of skills and multiple choice exam students will be awarded the Open Water Diver qualification, the passport to your worldwide diving adventure. Maximum qualified depth for Open Water Divers is 18m, children aged 10-14 will qualify as Junior Open Water Divers and be limited to a depth of 12m.

In the PADI Open Water Diver course, you learn to use basic scuba equipment including a mask, snorkel, fins, regulator, buoyancy control device and a diving cylinder. The equipment you wear varies, depending upon whether you’re diving in tropical, temperate or cold water. Check with your course provider about the equipment you’ll use during this course and get advice about everything you need from your PADI Instructor.

We will also happily come along and teach you in your own pool providing it meets the required standards for PADI training.

Breathing underwater for the first time is something you’ll never forget, therefore Haven Diving Services cannot be held responsible for you falling in love with Scuba Diving and wanting to spend all of your free time underwater!